Toll rising with 30 Indians killed as Guru held

At least 30 people were killed Friday when clashes broke out in northern India after a court convicted a controversial religious leader of raping two of his followers, sparking fury among tens of thousands of supporters who had gathered to await the verdict.

Police impose Section 144, restricting assembly of four or more people in 11 districts of Delhi, including New Delhi. PTI says prohibitory orders to be in place until Sept 8.

Authorities rushed hundreds of troops to the city of Panchkula after followers of guru Ram Rahim Singh torched cars, threw rocks and attacked television vans, breaking their windows and overturning one.

More than 100,000 were estimated to have gone to the city in Haryana state, where India’s federal investigations agency had set up a special court to rule on the charge that he had raped two female devotees.

Police deputy superintendent Isham Singh said 30 had been killed and around 250 injured after rioting broke out in Haryana, where many areas were now under curfew.

“The situation is tense but under control. The crowds have been dispersed at most places,” he told AFP by phone.

“The crowd outside the court was asked to vacate but they turned violent leading to police action.”

Ram Rahim Singh has a vast following in Haryana, where he runs a spiritual movement that claims to have millions of devotees around the world.

Authorities imposed an indefinite curfew in Panchkula, where mobile internet services had earlier been cut off.

“I don’t understand what the government and the police are doing. We have been feeling unsafe since yesterday and all our fears came true today,” local resident Sandeep Singh told AFP.

“Why did the police not act swiftly and forcefully against these followers?”

As news of Singh’s conviction spread there were reports of violence in the neighbouring state of Punjab and on the outskirts of the capital Delhi, which borders Haryana.

“Two train stations have been burnt in Punjab and two empty (train) coaches have been set on fire in Delhi’s Anand Vihar station,” said Neeraj Sharma, a spokesman for Indian Railways.

Hundreds of trains passing through Punjab and Haryana have been cancelled, he said.

Prosecutor Harinder Pal Singh Verma told AFP the guru was “calm after the verdict was passed” and had been flown by helicopter to another city in Haryana. He will be sentenced on August 28.

Tweets about the incident

CM of Haryana tweeting about the incident and also gave a video on twitter